After Extinction Rebellion marched through Hay to the Festival marquee on Sunday, Rupert Read gave an impassioned call to action from the Festival's main stage.
"This is not a drill. This is not an issue, it is the issue," he said.
The event coincided with the start of Extinction Rebellion's "Twelve Days of Crisis" campaign, which aims to disrupt the general election with a series of non-violent protests. Their aim is to make the climate and ecological emergency the defining issue of this general election. Organisers said they hope to raise the alarm around the climate crisis with the help of "bikes, bees and bulldozers."
"People who talk about colonising Mars are absolute idiots," Read said. "It’s a pure fantasy, a way of avoiding the fact we only have one planet, one chance, and we are very close to destroying it."
Reflecting on the recent floods in Northern England, he added: "Every climate disaster is a possible wake up call... Look at the floods recently. Extinction Rebellion have been on the ground helping. It’s the Blitz spirit, forming a common community when we're under attack."
And he offered further hope for 2020. "It will be a big year. There are plans involving David Attenborough that have the potential to be very impactful," he teased.
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